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Activists, Journalists and Celebrities: China’s Televised Confessions

China’s national broadcaster has aired a string of confessions since 2013 made by individuals embroiled in politically charged cases and by felony suspects, often before they were tried in court.

The confessions have underscored a strategy increasingly used by the Chinese authorities to steer public opinion and justify almost-certain convictions. They strike many as reminiscent of the public self-criticism sessions of the Mao era.

Here’s a look at some recent televised confessions that have captivated national interest:

The Swedish citizen, who co-founded an organization to provide training and financial help to human rights lawyers and political activists, said in a televised confession that his group was “criminally liable” for the violations of law by some of the lawyers and activists the group supported.

He also apologized for “hurting the feelings of the Chinese people” with his actions.

The Swedish citizen is one of the five men linked to a Hong Kong bookstore specializing in books critical of the Chinese authorities. The five have disappeared in recent months.

In his televised confession, he said he had voluntarily returned from Thailand to turn himself in for a probation violation in connection with a fatal drunken-driving accident in 2003.

In media interviews, relatives and friends have expressed doubts about the televised account of his return to China.

Aug. 31, 2015

A Business Journalist

Wang Xiaolu

The reporter for the respected business magazine Caijing was detained after claiming in an article that China’s securities regulator was planning to stop measures aimed at stabilizing the stock market.

The Chinese authorities accused him of causing panic among investors, many of whom lost their life savings after share prices plunged that month.

In his televised confession, Mr. Wang said that he had obtained the information from private sources through “abnormal channels” and that his article was “sensational” and “irresponsible.”

July 11, 2015

A Civil Rights Lawyer

Zhou Shifeng

State news outlets have accused Mr. Zhou of being at the “operational core” of a “criminal syndicate” and of recruiting protesters to put public pressure on the courts in civil rights cases.

In a televised confession, he said he and employees at his law firm had committed criminal acts. He has since been arrested on charges of subverting state power and will most likely face trial.

China Central Television, via YouTube

Aug. 4, 2014

An Internet Starlet

Guo Meimei

Ms. Guo infuriated the Chinese public in 2011 for flaunting a lavish lifestyle in online posts while claiming to work for a state-affiliated charity. The scandal started her career as a fixture in China’s entertainment industry.

Ms. Guo was arrested in July 2014 and accused of illegally betting on the soccer World Cup. She made a televised confession the following month and was sentenced to five years in prison in September 2015.

Photo

Credit
China Central Television, via Associated Press

May 31, 2014

A Sect Leader

Zhang Lidong

In his televised confession, Mr. Zhang, a member of a religious group known as the Church of Almighty God, said he participated in the fatal beating of a woman at a McDonald’s restaurant in Shandong Province, but he insisted that the woman was an evil spirit.

He was later sentenced to death and executed.

China Central Television, via YouTube

May 8, 2014

A Whistle-Blower

Gao Yu

In her televised confession, the prominent journalist said she provided a secret Communist Party document to an overseas website and thus endangered national security.